The present invention relates to a sample rack handling system and particularly to a sample rack handling system suitable for automatically performing pretreatment for sample inspection in a clinical inspection field.
An ordinary sample handling system comprises various kinds of treatment units (a centrifuge unit, a destoppler unit, an aliquoter unit, a bar-code labeler unit, a restoppler unit, a sorting unit, an analyzer unit and so on) respectively containing a rack transportation unit and transportation lines connecting between the treatment units, and the handling system is constructed by connecting between the treatment unit and the treatment unit, between the transportation line and the treatment unit, or between the transportation line and the transportation line.
An automatic sample handling system is proposed in xe2x80x9cHitachi Review, Vol.41, No.4, pages 167-172 (1992)xe2x80x9d. In the automatic sample handling system, a transportation line for transporting samples is composed of a plurality of transportation routes to branch the transportation line into a plurality of routes so that the samples may be distributed to the various kinds of treatment units.
The treatment units arranged in the system comprises an automatic centrifuge unit for separating blood into serum and cells, a destoppler unit for automatically removing a cap of a sample container, an aliquoter unit for pipetting serum from a mother sample container to a daughter sample container, a bar code labeler unit for attaching a bar code label having the same sample ID as that of the mother sample to the daughter sample container, a re-stoppler for setting the cap to the sample container, a sample sorting unit for sorting the sample containers by inspection groups, a chemical analyzer unit for automatically performing chemical analysis of the sample.
On the other hand, an automatic analyzing system having a rack transportation portion and a plurality of analyzing units is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.3-285175. In the automatic analyzing system, a sample is pipetted from a sample rack stopping on the rack transportation portion to an analyzer unit. The analyzer units are respectively connected to the rack transportation portion by a plurality of positioning pins.
In the above-mentioned systems disclosed in Hitachi Review, Vol.41, No.4 and Japanese Patent Application LaidOpen No.3-285175, a height adjusting mechanism is required independently in each of the treatment units such as analyzer units and the rack transportation portion. Further, it is necessary to perform height adjustment for each of the treatment units and the rack transportation portion with respect to a floor surface of a facility to install the system therein as the reference height level when the system is constructed.
If a treatment unit detachably combined with the rack transportation portion has a rack transferring area having an inlet port and an outlet port for the sample rack, the sample rack must be smoothly transferred from the rack transportation portion to the rack transferring area, and reversely from the rack transferring area to the rack transportation portion. However, it is not easy to make the levels of the inlet port and the outlet port for the sample rack installed at a comparatively high position from the floor surface agree with the level of the transportation surface of the rack transportation portion because there is unevenness on the floor surface to be used as the height level reference. That is, in order to prevent catching or falling of the sample rack when the sample rack is transferred between the rack transportation portion and the treatment unit, fine adjustment of the level is required and accordingly large labor is required in such adjusting work.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sample rack handling system in which work adjusting height level between a rack transportation assembly and a treatment unit structure can be performed with less labor in a construction in which the both are detachably combined, and a sample rack can be easily transferred between them.
The present invention is applied to a sample rack handling system which comprises a rack transportation assembly having a passage capable of transporting a sample rack holding a sample, the rack transportation assembly being to be installed on a floor surface; and a treatment unit structure having a rack transferring area for sending out and receiving the sample rack to and from the passage, the treatment unit structure being capable of being combined with the rack transportation assembly.
The rack transportation assembly comprises a projecting member formed in the rack transportation assembly below the passage, the projecting member projecting forward from the rack transportation assembly; a first reference surface facing upward formed on an upper surface of the projecting member; a plurality of adjusters for adjusting height, the adjuster being attached at a position lower than the projecting member in the rack transportation assembly.
Further, the treatment unit structure comprises a second reference surface facing downward formed at a position near a back surface of the treatment unit structure lower than the rack transferring area; casters to be used so as to contact to the floor surface when the treatment unit structure is moved on the floor surface, the caster being arranged at a position lower than the second reference surface in the treatment unit structure; and a height adjuster capable of adjusting a height from the floor surface in the front side of the treatment unit structure after the second reference surface is brought in contact with the first reference surface.
In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, the caster in the treatment unit structure is attached at a position where the caster does not come into contact with the rack transportation assembly when combining of the treatment unit structure with the rack transportation assembly is completed. Further, the rack transferring area in the treatment unit structure comprises a rack inlet port and a rack outlet port, and after completion of combining the treatment unit structure with the rack transportation assembly, a level of a rack transferring surface of the rack inlet port is equal to or lower than a level of a rack transportation surface of the passage in the rack transportation assembly, and a level of a rack transferring surface of the rack outlet port is equal to or higher than a level of a rack transportation surface of the passage in the rack transportation assembly, and a level difference between the rack transportation surface and each of the rack transferring surfaces does not exceed 5 mm.
Furthermore, in a preferable embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of treatment unit structures are combined with one rack transportation assembly. Further, the rack transportation assembly includes a rack having the projecting portion and the plurality of adjusters; and a rack transportation mechanism having the passage, the rack transportation mechanism being attached onto the rack. Further, the treatment unit structure comprises a plurality of vertical stripes formed in an equal interval on a front surface of the treatment unit structure, and a width dimension of the treatment unit structure is integer times of the interval of the stripes.